Introduction

The tragedy of the Gospel of Vitalis is that there isn't more of it. As Antinous himself implies in Epistle 064 - On Grief, the gods made a colossal mistake in taking Vitalis at so early an age -- just when he was beginning to show promise as an artist.

Thankfully, the pieces we do have shed some beautiful light on "the little details" of life in the close company of Antinous and his contemporaries. Unlike The Bathhouse Frescoes, however, the individual works cannot be so easily matched to anything that was explicitly written by Antinous. There are few indications as to the specific time and place in which they were drawn, other than the fact that they fall into the relatively short time-span in which Vitalis' friendship with Antinous blossomed while upon the Palatine (and then briefly on the opening leg of the Imperial Tour).

As a result, the drawings of Vitalis are best enjoyed simply -- as miniature vignettes that offer tantalizing glimpses into the day-to-day life of Antinous and his immediate circle.

Thumbnails

ANTINOUS

Antinous Writing	Self Pleasure	Antinous with Javelin

FRIENDS

Anaxamenos Portrait	Decentius Rests

OBSERVATIONS

Unidentified Man